Archive for September 9, 2012

Canada’s former Ambassador to Tehran John Mundy warned that breaking off relations with Iran is a strategic mistake. John Mundy is a retired Canadian diplomat who was sent as ambassador to Iran in 2007. He wonders why Canada is cutting ties to Iran when the international community needs more not less information about what is going on. Mundy also points out that closing the embassy also will make it difficult for Canada to play any role as an international player in any negotiated deal over Iran’s nuclear program. Mundy, who is a visiting associate at the Centre for International Policy Studies at the University of Ottawa, said, “It’s a grave step and it can’t easily be reversed…I know from experience it’s very, very tough to understand what’s going on in the country.” Mundy suggested that Prime Minister Harper might be preparing Canadians to support a military strike against Iran. Mundy had written earlier, “This is the first time in decades that a Canadian prime minister, Liberal or Conservative, appears to be advocating approaches that reduce diplomatic opportunities for peace during an international crisis.”

The Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands accredited to Sierra Leone and based in Senegal, Ambassador Pieter Jan Kleiweg De Zwaan, has informed the government of Sierra Leone that its Embassy in Dakar Senegal will be closed and relocated to Accra in Ghana. He said his government will be covering Sierra Leone, through their Embassy in Ghana. This he noted is as a result of some of their missions being closed in Africa. “However’ he said “there would be exceptions for diplomatic applications to be processed in Senegal” Ambassador De Zwaan added that applicants from Sierra Leone should in the interim first contact the Dutch Embassy in Senegal for enquiries on +221338490360 or Fax +221338217084 or through its web- http://www.nlambassadedakar.org.